Julian Perez
Command Station EP

Firing up the next heat on the prolific Partisan imprint is rising Outcast Torino affiliate, Emanuele Montalto. The “Soundboy” EP sees the innovative Italian showcase a series of animated and spaced out productions containing a certain direct energy the label associates itself with. This club room approved outing from Montalto sits comfortably on the staple outfit that Partisan has become in recent years, with Anthea continuing to build her go to label for stellar underground sounds.

More VA action as the series continues with another instalment. As is tradition at OEW, four heavy hitters grace the newest plate. Enlisting rising talents and familiar faces alike, the Witness surveys all, cherry-picking another clutch of intrepid dancefloor navigators for the label.Asphalt DJ tees off with a shadowy, driving tripper. Flush with insistent throb and a spectrum of proggy flourishes, it’s properly hypnotic fare. De Lichting member RDS, on the other hand, opts in favour of deep space projection. ‘TH Only’ is a pristine transmission; deep groove and widescreen scope primed to soundtrack imagined interplanetary expeditions.Making nocturnal manoeuvres with a touch of grit, Hypercolour and Glass Table co- founder Ste Roberts goes off on another tangent entirely. ‘Tune Pitch Decay’ is as dusky as it is propulsive; tough and cavernous for the duration. Made of uneasy soundscapes and half-time, rolling drums, Amsterdam local Tammo Hesselink finally rounds things off on an abstract, downtempo tip.Artwork & Design by Susanne Janssen.

We celebrate the 10th vinyl release of Melcure, produced by Omar Akhrif. In this occasion Omar proposes a 4 track EP produced in old fashioned way, generating a unique and homogeneous sound that already characterizes the boy from Verona in his different releases. The EP also includes a collaboration with Lucretio on the track “Bring the animals there”.

Limited release of a rare and eccentric offering from a rising innovative performer, a family member of MCR, featuring 4 different approaches, each imbued with its own unique and intricate subtleties.

Avoidance is back with an EP from Jeku. Four versatile tracks for elevating the dancefloors and diving into deeper moments.

DJ Stingray 313's Aqua Team series returns to Micron Audio. Originally released as a two-part series on the ever-innovative WeMe, the records quickly became collector's items. 15 years later, Aqua Team is now back in full force, reimagined as a triple vinyl album of underwater sonic explorations, fully remastered to meet modern cyborg standards. "Serotonin" starts the series off in true DJ Stingray style - pounding drums and 808 bass kicks, airy yet striking arpeggios and haunting vocal loops throughout. "Straight Up Cyborg" is a dystopian journey through cybernetic blips, bleeps and static and progressive build that truly bring the track to life. An aquatic alien bassline, sonar-like leads and hovering snare move swiftly in "Star Chart"; "Silicon Romance" and "Counter Surveillance" are modish tracks instantly recognizable as DJ Stingray 313's unique Detroit sound. "You have a destiny, and now is your time to fulfill it" says the mantra-like sample in "Potential", an entrancing synth loop sure to send listeners and dancefloors deep diving into euphoria. Pounding drums, floor-shaking low-end, running percussion and atonal, ominous samples theme the nefarious tracks "Binary Coven", "NWO", "LR001" and "Mindless", footnoting much darker undertakings in DJ Stingray 313's Aqua Team excursion. Closing out the Aqua Team saga is the strongly-titled "It's All Connected". Thick drums, glistening arpeggios and ethereal strings shine brightly across a wide stereo plane, creating a thundering wall of sound. Aqua Team truly showcases the diverse facets of DJ Stingray 313's signature production, as vast and evolving as the seafloor itself. - Jay Remy